Tulsa, Oklahoma’s James Robert Webb’s new EP release Ride or Die solidifies his position as one of country music’s most promising talents. The 2022 winner of Nashville’s Music Row Magazine’s Country Breakout Awards’ Independent Artist of the Year’s accomplishments is even more impressive because of the time he devotes to a thriving musculoskeletal radiology practice in the Tulsa area. One wonders how and when he finds time to sleep. His discipline and commitment to serving his patients and growing music audience sets him in rarefied air that few others inhabit.
He wouldn’t occupy such a position without talent. The half-dozen tracks on Ride or Die are top-shelf modern country rife with sincerity and entertainment value. He opens the EP with his popular single release, “Gentlemen Start Your Weekends”. Its simmering introduction supplies listeners with their only moment of respite before Webb and his cohorts launch us into a torrid boogie. Southern rock influences are prominent. They culminate with a brief but scintillating guitar break during the song’s second half.
Webb keeps his foot on the gas for the EP’s title song. “Ride or Die” has a brisk pace and an exultant chorus certain to be a crowd favorite. The entirety of the EP provides a masterclass in miniature on how modern performers can balance a mandate to please audiences while remaining faithful to a personal vision. You listen to “Ride or Die” and never doubt that Webb deeply values this song.
A second successful single, “Lovesick Drifting Cowboy” eschews the Southern rock influences prevalent throughout the opening duo. Instead, he embraces much more solidly country and even blues influences with a bit of outlaw attitude mixed in for good measure. The presence of harmonica and fiddle diversifies the EP’s sound, and Webb responds with an appropriately atmospheric vocal that never risks overwrought theatrics. Organ plays an underrated role in the success of these songs and provides pivotal color for this track.
“New Moon Light” has a nice light touch. Much of this comes from the lively piano he laces throughout the song’s arrangement. Other restrained touches such as Webb whistling influence the song’s fortunes. It’s a country track through and through with the right amount of twang balancing out a smattering of pop sensibilities. The song’s acoustic underpinning further deepens its effect on listeners.
He continues in a much more overt acoustic mood with the EP’s finale. “Adore” shows Webb’s musical reach. The lullaby-like qualities of its melody prompt him to adopt a distinctly different vocal delivery that, nonetheless, never ventures too far afield from the song’s predecessors. There’s something on Ride or Die for every taste. James Robert Webb’s ability and willingness to assume different stylistic modes for his listeners never leaves him off balance or groping for effects. He performs with veteran self-assurance that comes across during every track and steers listeners through the collection’s peaks and valleys with inspiring commitment, skill, and passion. It bodes well for the future release of his new full-length Weekend Outlaw this fall.
Garth Thomas